What Is a Good CS per Minute in LoL? Benchmarks and How to Improve (2026)

CS — creep score, the number of minions and monsters you've killed — is the most reliable income in League of Legends, and the easiest number to improve on your own. But "what's a good CS per minute?" usually gets answered with numbers nobody checked. This guide starts from the real supply: how many minions a lane actually spawns by 10, 15 and 20 minutes on patch 26.21. From there you can see why 10 CS a minute is the mark of near-perfect farming, what good looks like for each role, and which habits add a CS a minute.

How many minions a lane really offers

Every lane gets the same waves. Patch 26.1 moved the first one to 0:30; after that a wave of 3 melee and 3 casters spawns every 30 seconds, with a cannon every third wave until 14:00, then every second wave and from 25:00 every wave. Counting them gives the most minions one laner could ever farm:

These are minions that have spawned. The newest wave is still walking to lane at any moment, so even a laner who never misses trails these totals by a wave or two — and the in-game counter adds any jungle camps you take. The CS & KDA calculator works out your share of your lane's minions from one scoreboard line.

What counts as good CS per minute

• 10+near-perfect lane farming — the number to chase in a calm lane
• 8–9a strong game for a laner with a few roams or a lost fight
• 6–7room to grow: several waves a game are going missing
• Under 6the biggest gold leak in the game — fix this before anything else

Our planning bands, worked out from the lane supply above — not a Riot statistic (Riot doesn't publish CS averages by rank).

The bands only mean something for laners. A bot laner who farms from the first wave, a mid laner who catches side waves, and a top laner in a freeze will sit higher than a roaming mid or a lane that lost early. Compare like with like: your CS at 10 and 20 minutes against your own last twenty games, champion by champion.

CS by role

How to raise your CS per minute

1. Ten minutes in the Practice Tool.

   No opponent, just last-hits. Repeat until you miss nothing; then add one ability per wave the way you'd use it in lane.

2. Learn your hits.

   How many auto-attacks a melee, caster and cannon take at level 1, 3 and 6 with your champion and items. Fewer missed last-hits under turret follow.

3. Crash before you recall.

   Recalling with a wave heading to your turret loses it. The wave management guide covers when to crash.

4. Die less.

   A death costs the wave you miss while dead, the walk back and the wave the enemy pushes into your turret — often more CS than ten missed last-hits.

5. Catch side waves from 14:00.

   Before grouping, collect the wave nearest you. An uncollected wave is gold nobody gets — or the enemy does.

CS, KDA and kill participation together

CS shows your income, KDA how often you stayed alive to use it, and kill participation whether you were where the fights were. A high CS with low kill participation can mean you farmed while your team fought without you; a high KDA with low CS often means you waited safely instead of farming. All three come from one post-game line — the CS & KDA calculator reads them together.

Help with your farming

• Measure it: the CS & KDA calculator — your share of the lane's minions from one scoreboard line.
• Fix the leaks: 1-on-1 coaching on waves, recalls and side lanes.
• Read next: wave management and the best role to climb.